


Tribbling Troubles

by Gelsey



Category: The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-12
Updated: 2014-04-12
Packaged: 2018-01-19 02:31:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1452238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gelsey/pseuds/Gelsey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tribbles come to Chicago, and Bob is missing.  Who can he go to now?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tribbling Troubles

**Author's Note:**

> Up through Proven Guilty, I believe. Touching upon Star Trek (OS). 
> 
> Written in 2007.

It’s bad enough that most technology didn’t work for him the majority of the time. He doesn't need these little … _things_ … multiplying and screwing up the 1% functionality he does get.

“Put it down,” Harry tells Molly snappishly. She’s picked up one of the small, roundish, furry creatures and is petting it. The damned thing is purring contentedly as if to mock him.

“But it’s cute!” Molly protests, cuddling it close to her chest. It makes a trilling sound—Harry mentally damns it again. Heedless of the tightening jaw and grinding teeth, she asks, “Do we know what it is yet?”

“Not yet,” he answers tersely. With Bob gone AWOL, he is going to have to find alternative sources of information. Hopefully ones that don’t come with the price tag of a name. “”I’m waiting for the pizza.”

Once it arrives—with one minute to spare before that whole ‘free’ deal kicks in, of course—he and Molly walk to a deserted area. The Blue Beetle, faithful car that it had been, had not been able to withstand the rapidly multiplying cuteness of fuzz balls.

He draws a circle with the piece of chalk that lives in his pocket and dabs some blood on the bottom of one slice before retreating to a safe and hidden distance before calling Toot-Toot’s Name.

It doesn’t take long for the faery to arrive. The small fae circles the food, fluttering closer and closer, something in his small memory making him wary, but after a moment he seems to dismiss it and attacks the pizza. The circle closes with a snap of energy and Toot-Toot wails, cursing Dresden as the lean man steps out of his hiding place. He settles down at the promise of more pizza in return for information, however. His love for pizza is notorious

“What do you want?” The voice is shrill and a trifle sulky.

“Information, of course.” He gestures Molly forward and she holds out the creature for Toot-Toot to see.

The little faery’s jaw drops and the piece of pizza he’d been holding falls to the ground unheeded, a first in Dresden’s experience with the tiny fae. “Ooooh.” There’s a quality of awe in the exhalation. The blue being presses his face to the magical barrier that separates him from the animal, his pug nose flattening against it. “A tribble! Where did you find it, Harry?”

“A tribble?” Harry repeats dumbly.

“Yes! A tribble. Star Trek, Harry, Star Trek.”

“Star Trek?” Definitely feeling a little dumb now.

“Yes! I thought it seemed familiar!” Molly says triumphantly as the pieces fall into place. “So they’re real?” She peers down at the purring, gentle creature in her hands.

Toot nods enthusiastically. “Inspired by the Great Tribble Attack of 1965,” he says with all seriousness.

To Molly, that explains a lot. Harry, however, is obviously out of the loop. “So this has happened before?” Harry jumps back into the conversation that threatens to spiral enthusiastically out of control.

“Duh.” Molly’s and Toot-Toot’s answer is short and succinct. Toot goes so far as to toss his dandelion fluff hair and roll his eyes.

“So what do we do about them? They’re everywhere!” Harry throws his arms out, frustrated. 

“Really?” Toot-Toot looks thrilled. He makes grabby hands at the purring tribble just out of his reach. “Can I have it?” he asks, ignoring the question.

“If you tell me how to get rid of them.” The patience in Harry’s voice is obviously forced.

Toot-Toot crosses his arms and lifts his pointed chin. “I’ll tell you if you let me have it.”

Dresden suppresses a growl. “Promise.” The wyldfae rolls his eyes but promises, and Harry reluctantly releases the faery, who immediately wraps his arms around the middle of the furry tribble, causing it to squeak. He can barely see the tiny fae around the armful of annoying fluff.

“How?” he demands.

“Ask Bob, he knows,” Toot-Toot says and starts flying off, much lower to the ground than usual, his shiny dragonfly wings straining with the effort of carrying his load back to wherever he’d come from.

Harry kicks the remains of the pizza and curses. He’s back at square one—no Bob and an abundance of tribbles.

“Don’t you think I’d have asked him if I could?” he yells after the faery, but even burdened with a furry tribble, the little being is already out of sight.


End file.
